Understanding and Responding to the Determinants of Weathering in Central Brooklyn Black Youth Ages 18 to 24

Background and Purpose: Black populations in the U.S. are at-risk of weathering; physiological wear and tear produced by chronic exposure to structural inequalities. Engagement with the carceral system may be a source of inequities weathering among Black men, who are vastly overrepresented among those exposed to this system. Evidence shows that parental exposure to the carceral system compromises child well-being and health, and that weathering-related health may emerge by late adolescence. However, few studies have explored the ways in which Black families understand and resist the constraints that this exposure places on their ability to protect and build healthy futures for their children. Research has also not yet explored the relationships between paternal exposure to the carceral system and weathering risk among Black youth.

To address these gaps, we will assess the impact of paternal incarceration on children’s health in New York City’s (NYC) central Brooklyn neighborhoods of Crown Heights and Bedford Stuyvesant. This study’s premise that knowledge on community members’ lived experiences is crucial to building power and capacity to inform more equitable policies is deeply influenced by the Brooklyn Movement Center’s (BMC) community-based wisdom and principles.

Methods: We will conduct a mixed methods study that will be implemented in two phases over the course of three years. Phase I of the study involves primary data collection and includes stakeholder focus groups and in-depth semi-structured interviews with 20 Black fathers and 20 Black young adults who have been exposed to the carceral. Phase II will consist of secondary data analysis of a citywide cross-sectional survey of diverse residents of lightly and highly policed neighborhood across NYC, oversampling Black late adolescents (ages 18-24) in central Brooklyn (Phase II). We will explore:

1. How do Black fathers (with carceral system exposure) in Central Brooklyn narrate their exposure to the carceral system, and its impact?
2. How do the late adolescent children of Black fathers with exposure to the carceral system describe the ways in which this exposure has impacted their relationships with their fathers, and their own well-being across their lives.
3. What is the association between weathering and paternal exposure to the carceral legal system?

Results: The results from this study will enable us to document the impact of exposure to the carceral system on Black residents in central Brooklyn. This information will connect the policies that govern the carceral system to the experiences of those impacted by it, deepening our understanding of these impacts and thus better informing our collective ability to change the system overall.

Conclusions and Implications: Study findings will be used to inform advocacy activities for BMC Member Leaders. Member leaders are Central Brooklynites who are directly impacted by social injustice around the issues BMC organizes around, including community safety, housing stability and sustainability. In clarifying the relationship between exposure to the carceral legal system and health, we will be able to support BMC members in more productive and evidence-based policy conversations about the impact of the carceral state on Black communities.